Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane’s report on the investigation of child predator Jerry Sandusky confirmed what many legislators from Northeast Pennsylvania suspected all along.

It took too long for prosecutors to bring the former Penn State assistant football coach to justice.

“The reality is when you have a child predator, the first and foremost thing for people in a prosecutorial role should be to get those folks off the street,” said Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118, Avoca.

He and other lawmakers expressed dismay at Ms. Kane’s finding that the three-year investigation that ultimately resulted in Mr. Sandusky’s 2012 conviction for sexually abusing 10 boys was marked by missteps and “inexplicable delays.”

“We obviously had a successful prosecution, but the fact of the matter is it was still probably a two-year horizon between knowing this predator had violated a child and actually prosecuting him for much wider conduct,” Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, said.

“I have a problem with the lack of urgency. ... That is very, very disturbing.”

Mr. Blake said he does not know if the report has any legislative implications but will look closer “to see what if anything we can do relative to the rules that prosecutors are living by.”

Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich, D-114, Taylor, said the report shows prosecutors neglected to take “basic steps” to protect other potential victims after the initial accusations were made against Mr. Sandusky.

“When you really look at it from a constituent point of view, the question is why — why were there these ‘inexplicable delays?’” he said. “How do you resolve that with the victims and their families when it went on during the investigation, when even more young people were being victimized by Jerry Sandusky?”

Mr. Kavulich said he was relieved Ms. Kane found no evidence political considerations played a role in the delay in charging Mr. Sandusky. Gov. Tom Corbett was attorney general when the investigation began in 2009.

Sen. John Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Twp., said the report provides a needed look at how child abuse cases are prosecuted to complement new state laws to protect children from abuse.

“This is really about Pennsylvania changing its culture about how you prevent and prosecute child predator cases,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve taken a hard look at the investigation.”

He said the report’s findings merit further attention on using grand juries in child predator cases and cooperation and communication among law enforcement agencies.

Rep. Kevin Haggerty, D-112, Dunmore, said with the report’s vindication of Mr. Corbett, it is now time to move on.

The main thing to be taken from the prosecution of Mr. Sandusky, like the notorious “kids for cash” scandal that brought down two Luzerne County judges, is that no one is above the law, he said.

“There is no system that should protect someone who is doing harm to our children. It is important for people to have the courage to stand up and question people regardless of the political power they may have,” he said.

ROBERT SWIFT, staff writer, contributed to this story.

Contact the writer:

dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

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